Bangladesh vs India 2022

‘I call him all-rounder because…’- Sunil Gavaskar terms star India batter as game-changer

Team India will be kicking themselves after they did not have a good series against New Zealand, losing 1-0. Following that, the ODI series against Bangladesh was also off to an unideal start for the Men in Blue as they lost the first ODI in a low-scoring encounter in Dhaka by one wicket to Bangladesh.

India failed to give a good account of themselves with the bat. KL Rahul was the shining light for India in the first ODI as he scored a vital 73 off 70 balls to hold the Indian innings together and get India to 168 which proved to be a total of some semblance. Though he became everybody’s villain for dropping the all-important catch of Mehidy Hasan Miraz, he has been firmly backed by Sunil Gavaskar.

He is the kind you want – Sunil Gavaskar on KL Rahul

He has been batting for India at No.5 with Dhawan and Rohit Sharma opening the batting most of the time and Virat Kohli at No.3. He has been batting at No.5 for a while now. Maybe that is the position that he is looking to consolidate. What that does is it gives India the extra option. He talked about KL Rahul on the Sony Sports Network.

If you have somebody as a middle-order option who can keep wickets then you can look at taking another bowler. I call him an all-rounder because he can keep wickets, he can open the batting and can bat at No.5. KL Rahul is an all-rounder as far as I am concerned. And someone like him with the kind of experience he has and the range of shots he has, he is the kind of finisher you want at No.5 or 6,” Gavaskar added.

Rahul also kept wickets in the first ODI. He donned the gloves in the absence of Rishabh Pant who was taken a break from the ODI series, but he is in line to be back for the two-match Test series. Rahul had kept for India for a brief period in 2019 and also in 2021 in the ODIs. He has also kept wickets for the Karnataka side in domestic cricket.